Stupid Aquaclear 110, Sounds like Crap

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shells-n-scales

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Nov 14, 2007
436
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Deep South Texas
So today while our little 30g tank, I took at the aquaclear 500 we have on it, and just rinsed it with water to get rid of any sand or debry inside. Everything looks fine, I put everything back together and started it up. Its sounding like crap... as thout he impeller is getting stuck while it spins. Its loud and annoying. So I decided to tear it down once more and double check everything, I cleaned the impeller for any algae or sludge, made sure there wasnt any tiny rocks or sand inside the housing, and placed all together again. Same thing... it sounds like its choking!! It works dont get me wrong, but it just sounds like sh1t !!!

Any ideas of what it could be?

Where can I get replacement parts??

Thanks
 
It sounds like the seals on the filter.. the plastic part connecting the shaft and the motor where its pulling the water..

The impeller i dont think is an issue.. if the impeller is broken u would know.. i'll make sounds like when theres no water inside..

Did u try to fill the filter full of water first? cuz if there isn't any water.. it will sound like its choking..

There are parts for sale on Ebay or bigals.com
 
It works dont get me wrong, but it just sounds like sh1t !!!
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Sounds like an impeller shaft problem.
No experience with AC filters, can you remove the magnet/vanes from the shaft? You might have got some debris into the assembly and scored, grooved the impeller shaft.
I did that to a penguin by getting sand into it.
I took the impeller shaft and stuck it in a drill. Ran the drill at a low speed, using some fine grit sandpaper to get it smooth, then a scour pad covered with toothpaste to polish it.
Fixed my noise problem.
 
Take the impellar/magnet assembly out and grab the metal shaft with some pliers and pull it straight out. Flip it over and tap it in. Reassemble and test.

The metal shaft that the impellars ride on in all mag drive pumps gets worn more on the top side where the impellar veins are. So by flipping them you get a alot less worn shaft for the impellar to ride on.

If its still loud and looks worn down then replace shaft, and impellar.

As already mentioned some ultra fine sand paper works miracles on impellar magnets when they get grooves from sand.
 
by flipping them you get a alot less worn shaft for the impellar to ride on.
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Good call....forgot to mention that.
Wonder how many get replaced, when all it needed was to flip the shaft ends.
 
Also, make sure you put the impeller assy. in the motor unit before installing the impeller cover. Otherwise the blades rub on on the cover because the impeller assy. isn't fully seated.
 
If it worked fine and quietly before cleaning it... and is loud as anything after cleaning it...

I think we should be able to safely conclude that either something was damaged during maintenance, or something was not reassempled properly...

I would avoid buying replacement parts or modifying anything just yet, my guess is you don't have something lined up right...
 
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